The Academy spread the love tonight. "Argo" scored the top honor with Best Picture, but "Life of Pi" led the pack with four major awards, including Ang Lee for Best Director. Both "Argo" and "Les Miserables" totaled three awards, and "Django Unchained" and "Skyfall" rounded out the pack with two awards each.

12:01 p.m. ET: In keeping with the night's musical theme, Kristin Chenoweth and Seth MacFarlane close the show with a little song - dedicated to all of the big losers. "Here's to the losers!"

11:58 p.m. ET: Ben Affleck's acceptance speech for "Argo" is far and away the most memorable of the night. He thanked his wife, Jennifer Garner, their kids and shared some heartfelt advice. "I want to thank my wife, who I don't normally associate with Iran. I want to thank you for working on our marriage. It is work, but it is the best kind of work," he says. "I was here 15 years ago or something and you know I had no idea what I was doing. I stood out here in front of you all, really just a kid. I went out and I never thought I'd be back here and I am because of so many of you who are here tonight …. I want to thank them for what they taught me, which is that you have to work harder than you think you possibly can, you can't hold grudges. It's hard, but you can't hold grudges. And it doesn't matter how you get knocked down in life because that's going to happen. All that matters is that you got to get up." PHOTOS: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner and More Hollywood Couples on the Red Carpet11:55 p.m. ET: Drum roll please! And the Oscar for Best Picture goes to "Argo." 11: 52 p.m. ET: Surprise! The Academy brings out first lady Michelle Obama to help Jack Nicholson introduce the nominees for Best Picture. 11:44 p.m. ET: Daniel Day-Lewis wins Best Actor, as expected for his portrayal of Abe Lincoln in "Lincoln." Lewis cracks a joke in his acceptance speech, saying he was supposed to be cast as Margaret Thatcher and presenter Meryl Streep was the first choice for Lincoln. "Meryl Streep was Steven's first choice to play Lincoln… I'd like to see that version," Lewis says.

11: 37 p.m. ET: Best Actress category is up next. See how each of these leading ladies - and girl - stacked up on the red carpet. (And a very happy birthday to nominee Emmanuelle Riva, who turns 86 today).

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11: 33 p.m. ET: Best Director goes to Ang Lee for "Life of Pi." It's his second Oscar win.

11:32 p.m. ET: Four more awards to go! 11:26 p.m. ET: Oscar for Best Original Screenplay goes to Quentin Tarantino for "Django Unchained." "This will be the writer's year, man," a slightly rambling Tarantino says in his acceptance speech after evading the playoff music. Tarantino also won Best Screenplay at the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes. "Django Unchained" is 11:24 p.m. ET: "Argo" wins Best Adapted Screenplay. PHOTO SPECIAL: Our Best and Worst Dressed List

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11:16 p.m. ET: Frontrunner Adele wins Best Original Song for "Skyfall." The singer gets emotional in her short acceptance speech and thanks her hubby: "My man, I love you baby." 11:10 p.m. ET:Best Original Score goes to "Life of Pi." (More praise for Ang Lee).

11:07 p.m. ET: The stars of "Chicago" take to the stage to mark the tenth anniversary of "Chicago" winning Best Picture. "We're concerned tonight's show isn't gay enough yet," MacFarlane quipped.

11:00 p.m. ET: Music legend Barbra Streisand is singing "The Way We Were" as a tribute to the late composer Marvin Hamlisch. She's still got it! (Fun fact: Hamlisch composed the very first " GMA" theme song.) 10: 57 p.m. ET: George Clooney gets the honor of presenting the In Memoriam package. "We thank you for the memories," the star says. More here from Oscars.com.

10: 49 p.m.: "Lincoln" wins Best Production Design. READ MORE:Full Wrapof the Oscars10: 47 p.m.: Dubbed "boy wizard" and "girl vampire" by MacFarlane, Daniel Radcliffe and Kirsten Stewart present the award for Achievement in Production Design. Stewart is sans the crutches she was sporting on the red carpet earlier and limps out onto the stage. Read all about it here, including what Anne Hathaway reportedly said to Stewart before she went onstage. Watch Live Oscars Coverage Here10: 44 p.m. ET: Nicole Kidman introduces the third batch of Best Picture nominees - "Silver Linings Playbook," "Django Unchained" and "Amour." 10:35 p.m. ET: The unstoppable Adele performs her hit "Skyfall." Our eyes are glued to the TV as our everyone's backstage, including winner Anne Hathaway, Entertainment Weekly's Jess Cagle tweeted. There have been some serious performances tonight.

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10: 33 p.m. ET: "Argo" wins Film Editing. 10: 32 p.m. ET: "Editors make so many of us look way better than we ever had a right to," Sandra Bullock says before presenting the award for Best Film Editing. 10:23 p.m. ET: No surprise! Anne Hathaway takes home Best Supporting Actressfor her role as Fantine in "Les Miserables." "It came true," she says, clutching the statuette.

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10:20 p.m. ET: Best Supporting Actress time … finally!It's between Amy Adams, "The Master"; Sally Field, "Lincoln"; Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"; Jacki Weaver, "Silver Linings Playbook"; Helen Hunt, "The Sessions." 10:18 p.m. ET: One of the funniest moments of the night. MacFarlane announces that the Von Trapp family will be singing a song from "The Sound of Music." Nobody appears and then a Nazi runs in to announce they were gone. Enter Christopher Plummer aka Captain Von Trapp to present Best Supporting Actress. WATCH: Seth MacFarlane's Von Trapp Family Fun10:15 p.m. ET: "We have a tie," Mark Wahlberg said before announcing the award for Best Sound Editing. The first one goes to "Zero Dark Thirty." The second one goes to "Skyfall." Is a tie allowed, you ask? It's not the first in Oscars history.

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The most famous was in 1986 when Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn tied for Best Actress, but there were five in total: Best Actor category in 1949, Best Documentary Short Subject in 1968, Best Actress in 1986, Documentary Feature in 1994, and Live Action Short Film, ABC News' Alexis Shaw reports. Read all about it here. 10:13 p.m. ET: Ted wouldn't be Ted without a Jewish joke. The bear asks Mark Wahlberg if he's Jewish because he has "a berg" at the end of his name. " Wrong answer. Try again. If you want to work in this town… " he says. "I was born Theodore Shapiro…" 10:11 p.m. ET: Ted is in the house. The stars of MacFarlane's box office hit, "Ted," Mark Wahlberg and Ted, presented the award for Sound Mixing to "Les Miserables." 10:01 p.m. ET: The cast of "Les Miserables" is singing "One Day More." Anne Hathaway stole the show, as expected. Watch it here.

9:53 p.m. ET: The movie musical tribute is off to a killer start with Catherine Zeta-Jones' performance of "All That Jazz" from "Chicago." 9:50 p.m. ET: Best Foreign Language Film is "Amour." 9:44 p.m. ET: "Searching for Sugar Man" takes home Best Documentary Feature. Jaws music creeps in again … (An aside: there's an official Twitter handle for Jaws music already with one tweet: "GET OFF THE STAGE!!!!!!!!")

9:42 p.m. ET: MarFarlane gets some laughs at the expense of Ben Affleck and Jessica Chastain. On Affleck's facial hair: "The first time I saw him with all that facial hair I thought finally the Kardashians have made the jump to film." On Jessica Chastain's character in "Zero Dark Thirty" - a movie about a "woman's innate ability to never let anything go," he jokes. 9:40 p.m. ET: Second batch of Best Picture nominees - "Argo," "Lincoln," "Zero Dark Thirty" - get their moment in the spotlight. 9: 36 p.m. ET: Best Documentary Short Subject goes to "Inocente." 9: 33 p.m. ET: Shawn Christensen of "Curfew" wins for Live Action Short Film. Stars of "Django Unchained" Kerry Washington and Jamie Foxx present .9:27 p.m. ET: Standing ovation for Shirley Bassey singing "Goldfinger." Thoughts on her performance? 9: 22 p.m. ET: Bond… James Bond! A ravishing Halle Berry takes to the stage in custom Versace for the Academy's tribute to 50 years of James Bond films.

9:20 p.m. ET: "Les Miserables" picks up Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

9:18 p.m. ET: Jennifer Aniston and Channing Tatum Best Costume Designgoes to Jacqueline Durran for "Anna Karenina." Click here to see her Oscar-winning costumes. 9:11 p.m. ET: And they're playing people off with Jaws music. Hilarious and brilliant. Nicole Kidman mouths from her seat: "Poor thing." 9:10 p.m. ET: That's two for "Life of Pi." The film picks up another win for Visual Effects.9:07 p.m. ET:The Best Oscar for Cinematography goes to… Claudio Miranda for "Life of Pi." The cast of "The Avengers" hands out the award. Full List of Winners9:05 p.m. ET: MacFarlane jokes about nine-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis' age. "It'll be 16 years till she's too old for George Clooney." 9:03 p.m. ET: Reese Witherspoon just gave us a briefing on the three of the Best Picture nominees: "Les Miserables," "Life of Pi," and "Beasts of the Southern Wild." That song from "Les Mis" - "Do You Hear the People Sing?" - is now in my head. 9:00 p.m. ET:Best Animated Feature Oscar goes to…."Brave." 8: 58 p.m. ET: "Paperman" wins Best Animated Short. 8: 58 p.m. ET: Paul Rudd and Melissa McCarthy lost us in their intro to animated short film. 8: 51 pm. ET: And the Oscar for Best Supporting Actorgoes to Christoph Waltz in "Django Unchained."

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8:49 p.m. ET: Every nominee for Best Supporting Actor already has an Oscar under his belt.

8: 42 p.m. ET: Another musical number with Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph-Gordon Levitt. And then we got a little Disney music too with "Be Our Guest," which finally scored MacFarlane the "Best Oscars host ever" headline.

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8: 39 p.m. ET: Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron are dancing to MacFarlane singing "The Way You Look Tonight." A shame not to see the "Magic Mike" star shirtless though.

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8:38 p.m. ET:Captain Kirk from "Star Trek" has beamed onto the stage to warn MacFarlane that he's about to ruin the Oscars and be branded the worst Oscar host ever. "The show is a disaster. I've come back in time … to stop you from ruining the Academy Awards," William Shatner says. "You sing an incredibly offensive song that upsets a lot of women in the audience." Cut to MacFarlane singing " We Saw Your Boobs," a hilarious number referencing when we've seen actresses nude in movies.

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8:35 p.m. ET: MacFarlane pokes fun at Daniel Day Lewis' method. "Your process fascinates me. You were totally 100% in character in Lincoln… So if you saw a cell phone, would you have to be like, 'Oh god, what's that?' If you bumped into Don Cheadle on the studio lot, you'd try and free him on the studio lot." 8: 32 p.m. ET: Too much? MacFarlane compared "Django Unchained" to Rihanna and Chris Brown's relationship. 8:30 p.m. ET: Seth MacFarlane is on stage and quips: "The quest to make Tommy Lee Jones laugh begins now." 8:27 p.m. ET: The stars are seated and the show is about to start. A lot of anticipation about Seth MacFarlane's opening monologue. Channing Tatum is tweeting that he's getting ready to take to the stage: "Hope you like what we've been working on. Getting ready to hit the #Oscars stage! Wish me luck!" Will there be a musical number right off the bat? 8:20 p.m. ET: Strapless is definitely a trend of the night. We've also seen a lot of beauties in blue.

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8: 15 p.m. ET: We've confirmed that Best Supporting Actress nominee Helen Hunt is rocking … H&M! "The Session" actress is in a custom made midnight-blue full length gown is silk satin gown (also strapless). Click here to see her dress. 8:14 p.m. ET: Anne Hathaway is talking about her dress. "My mom says it's business in the front, party in the back." 8:08 p.m. ET: Do Jacki Weaver and Olivia Munn share a stylist? ABC News' Alexis Shaw spotted the Best Supporting Actress nominee and Munn in eerily similar crimson gowns with matching gold embellishment on the top. Click here for more.

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8:05 p.m. ET: Kristen Stewart is sporting crutches on the red carpet. Might be because she took home the Worst Actress Razzie awardlast night for "Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2."

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8:00 p.m. ET: The show is now officially a half hour away. In honor of Oscar night, the President tweeted this picture from a White House movie night.

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7: 52 p.m. ET: "Les Mis" star and Best Actor nominee Hugh Jackman just picked up pre-show host Kristin Chenoweth on the red carpet and said she weighs less than an Oscar. Not really though…Each nearly 14-inch-high statue weighs 8.5 pounds and costs $500 to make. Get more Oscar trivia here.

7:40 p.m. ET: If there's one star you can count on to look fabulous, it's Jennifer Aniston. She's in a Valentino red strapless gown and has fiance Justin Theroux at her side. They're in the running for Hollywood's hottest couple on the red carpet. 7:38 p.m. ET: Bradley Cooper brought his mom as his date. She's rocking a shrug with serious feathers and what look like sneakers with her gown. Cooper is up for Best Actor in "Silver Linings Playbook." 7:34 p.m. ET: Reese Witherspoon is in head to toe Louis Vuitton. The presenter's black and royal blue gown with side-swept hairdo scream old Hollywood glamor. Click here.

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7: 28 p.m. ET: Fashion miss: Jane Fonda is slightly blinding in bright yellow. 7: 24 p.m. ET: Best actress nominee Naomi Watts is in a gunmetal Giorgio Armani gown in grey sequins. Does she make your best dressed list? See more arrivals here.7:20 p.m. ET:Anne Hathaway's dress may raise eyebrows tonight. The "Les Miserables" star is in a backless, halter dress that appears slightly sheer on the red carpet.

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7:18 p.m. ET: We can't get enough of Quvenzhane Wallis. The "Beasts of the Southern Wild" star has her mom's permission to stay out a little bit later tonight, she told Lara Spencer on the red carpet.

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7:15 p.m. ET: "I feel super tucked in," Amanda Seyfried said of the corset in her Alexander McQueen gown. "I can't sit down." The "Les Miserables" star is performing tonight. Hope she can breathe on stage .7:07 p.m. ET: Another star goes strapless. Jennifer Lawrence, who's up for Best Actress in "Silver Linings Playbook," is in a blush Dior Haute Couture gown with a full skirt.

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7:01 p.m. ET: ABC's pre-show is kicking off! "Red carpet is 500 feet long. That's about 2,000 of me," Chenoweth joked. Tune into ABC now and get a behind-the-scenes look via Backstage Pass on the Oscar App. 6:56 p.m. ET: The red carpet is packed, but not everyone is making it through the notorious L.A. traffic. Mark Ruffalo is running late. The actor, who's presenting tonight, tweeted to the Academy: "Dear @TheAcademy. We are running a good deal behind would you mind starting a little later this year? Mark and Sunrise Ruffalo."

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6:49 p.m. ET: Presenter Kerry Washington is in Miu Miu. The "Django Unchained" and star "Scandal" star always keeps us guessing and never fails to impress. The Best Apps for Hollywood's Big Night6:44 p.m. ET: Who are you most excited to see on the red carpet? What will be the meme of the night? Angelia Jolie's right leg stole the show last year and Twitter is reminding us. "1 year ago today you met the glorious thing that is ME #neverforget," @Angelina Jolie'sLeg posted. 6:35 p.m. ET: The reigning "Sexiest Man Alive" Channing Tatum and a pregnant Jenna Dewan are both glowing on the red carpet. See them canoodling here. 6:25 p.m. ET:Amy Adams looks ethereal in a seafoam green Oscar de la Renta strapless dress. She's up for Best Supporting Actress for "The Master."

5:42 p.m. ET: ABC pre-show hosts Kristin Chenoweth and Kelly Rowland have arrived on the red carpet and are looking fabulous in black and white.

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5:30 p.m. ET: See what the stars see as they walk down the grand staircase to the red carpet at the Dolby Theatre. This cool 360 view is courtesy of the Academy. 5:15 p.m. ET: Get your Oscar party on. Impress your friends with these movie-themed recipes and cocktails. We could go for some Spinach "Argo-choke Dip" right about now… Oscar 2013: Movie-Themed Recipes9 Cocktails for Your Oscar Party5:00 p.m. ET: "GMA" anchor Robin Roberts is back and looking better than ever! Roberts, who returned to the morning show Wednesday after undergoing a bone marrow transplant to treat MDS, will be on the red carpet tonight. "To my wonderful, beloved #TeamRobin … This one's for you. XO," she tweeted. She's in a cobalt blue velvet halter gown from designer Marc Bouwer.

1:15 p.m. ET: Hollywood's biggest night of the year is officially here: the Oscars. Funnyman Seth MacFarlane is hosting the 85 th Annual Academy Awards and we'll be covering all of the big winners, best moments, surprises, and all-important red carpet arrivals. Refresh for the latest updates all night long. We are just hours away from seeing the gorgeous gowns and finding out who's going home with those coveted statuettes. It's not too late to make your picks and predictions on our interactive Oscar ballot. To get up to speed before the festivities begin, check out our complete Oscars coverage.